


A Darker Shade of Red

by TranslucentFlow



Category: RWBY
Genre: And cuddles and cookies, Combat prodigy Ruby, F/F, F/M, Grimmer Remnant, Protector Yang, Ruby just wants her team to be a family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-07 18:53:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14087424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TranslucentFlow/pseuds/TranslucentFlow
Summary: Ruby Rose, admitted two years early to Beacon Academy, is a true combat prodigy - as befits someone accepted so early. Trained from a young age by her uncle, Qrow Branwen, an expert scythe user, Ruby is more than ready to fight the Grimm. She's less ready to try to lead a team of girls two years older than her, who seem determined not to trust each other and work together.A take on a grimmer Remnant, inspired by the aesthetic of the Red trailer, and trying to answer the question: If Ruby really did deserve to go to Beacon two years early purely because of her combat ability, what would her experience look like?Spoilers up through Volume 5. Relationships to be determined.





	1. Prologue or "Qrow Wishes he was Better with Kids"

Qrow wasn’t cut out for this. He just wanted to crawl into the nearest bar, drown his sorrows and forget the day he ever left the Branwen Tribe for Beacon Academy.

 

“Why, Uncle Qrow? Why would she leave us?”

 

Unfortunately, he had a niece that was trying to understand the death of her mother. Red eyes looked into tear-filled silver, and a sigh slipped out of his mouth.

 

“Summer didn’t leave us, kiddo. She only ever wanted to come home, and to be with you and Yang.” Qrow didn’t know how to comfort a seven-year-old child. A child who was just learning what death was and why it was such a horrible thing. Her mother was never coming home. Summer, his leader, was never coming home. Just like his sister, Raven.

 

Team STRQ was over. Qrow was struggling, but he couldn’t begin to imagine what Tai was going through. Qrow had lost two members of his chosen family. Tai had lost two loves of his life. But Qrow still had family here, relying on him for answers and guidance. He couldn’t drown his sorrows yet. Summer would never forgive him, after he had promised to treat Ruby as his own family. Qrow had told Summer not to be dumb. Summer was family, and that meant her daughter could never be anything but family, even if she wasn’t a Branwen.

 

“Listen, kiddo. Nothing lasts forever. Nothing.” Qrow leaned forward in his chair, lightly holding Ruby by her shoulders, making sure that she was watching him. Tears were running down her face, although she was holding back from breaking into sobs. “The best that we can do is to hold on tight,” he said, giving Ruby’s shoulders a light squeeze,” to what we have, and love ‘em while we got ‘em.”

 

Hearing the creak of a floorboard, Qrow momentarily glanced away from Ruby’s tearstained face to see a mop of blond hair peeking in through the doorway,

 

“That means you too, firecracker. Come over here.” And to his surprise, Yang, his blood-related niece actually slowly walked over to him. Yang was a proud, independent young girl. After she began to understand that Raven had abandoned her, it had created a rift between himself and Yang, due to Raven being his sister. Tai was losing a second love, but Yang was losing a second mother. And this one had really been a mom to her. He sighed again, focusing on his nieces, seeing that Yang had come to hug Ruby from behind, offering her own comfort. He knelt on the floor and wrapped both girls in the biggest hug he could manage. Ruby finally broke down in sobs, and a few tears snuck between Yang’s tightly shut eyelids.

 

“It’s okay, girls. I’m here. Uncle Qrow’s got ya.” He cradled his nieces to his chest. “I’ll be there for you until the day I die.”

_Oh nice going, Qrow, remind them of death right now. Wonderful job._

 

He would continue to comfort his nieces until they cried themselves to sleep. And then he was going to find Tai, and find out why the hell the man wasn’t there for his daughters.

* * *

 

 

“Teach me.”

 

“No.”

 

“Teach me,” Ruby said, glaring at her Uncle Qrow. It had taken her weeks to recover from her mother’s death, but after she had, she threw herself back into life with a fervor. Particularly her new obsession – becoming a huntress like Summer.

 

“I’m going to be a huntress, Uncle Qrow. Dad says I can be a student at Signal, since he teaches there. I need you to train me, so that I’ll be ready. It’s happening.”

 

“You’re too young, kiddo. You shouldn’t even be thinking about Signal yet.” Qrow sighed and shook his head. Tai had probably put the idea of Signal in Ruby’s head, while he talked with Yang about attending when she turned twelve in a couple years. “Go on, play with Yang or read or something. You’re too young to start training.”

 

“Nothing lasts forever, Uncle Qrow.” And oh, how he already regretted saying that phrase to her. He looked away and kneaded his forehead and temple with one hand. “I want to protect people. I want to be a hero. And I can’t wait forever to start.”

 

“Careful what you wish for, kiddo. If you keep asking, I might just say yes, and then I’ll really make you regret ever trying to get me to train you.” And with that said, he walked away, leaving Ruby to pout. He refused to train Ruby. Between his semblance, and the reason he trained as a huntsman in the first place, no good could come of that. This was Tai’s problem. Speaking of Tai, he needed to check in on his wayward teammate. That and ask why on Remnant he had chosen that epitaph for Summer’s grave. Qrow was starting to wonder about Tai’s mental state.

 

Of course, Qrow folded within a couple months. He could never deny Ruby anything for long. For now, he only allowed her to do some exercise routines and running with him in the forests of Patch, but he knew that it wouldn’t be long before she had him teaching her some weapon forms. Damn puppy eyes reminded him so much of Summer that it hurt.

* * *

 

 

“How’s your dad, firecracker?”

 

Yang blankly stared at Qrow. “He misses work sometimes, and he leaves Rubes and me on our own a lot.” Yang glanced down at the table they were sitting at. “I keep an eye on her and make sure that the laundry is done, but it’s a good thing that Rubes is learning to cook.”

 

Qrow sighed as he glanced around the Xiao-Long family kitchen. He had been sighing a lot since Summer died. “Your dad never quite bounced back from Summer’s death. Thanks for holding down the fort, kid.”

 

Yang’s hands clenched into fists on the table. “I’m not a kid anymore. I’m twelve, and I’m going to Signal next year. But I can’t do this all myself. I can’t take care of both Dad _and_ Ruby.” It physically pained her to admit it, but it would hurt worse for Ruby to be hurt by her pride.

 

“I know. You won’t have to much longer.” Qrow placed his hands over one of Yang’s hands, and watched the redness bleed out of her eyes, leaving their distinctive lilac color. “I’m going to stop taking missions and take a teaching position at Signal. Teaching’s not my thing, but you and Ruby can’t be left by the wayside any longer. I’m here for you, firecracker.”

 

“Thanks Uncle Qrow. I convinced Dad to teach me to fight like he does. It’ll keep him busy, but it leaves Ruby out.” Yang was frowning. Her dedication to her sister was something Qrow wanted to nurture, but this really might help motivate Tai and pull him out of his depression.

 

Qrow quietly groaned. “Don’t worry about Ruby. Leave her to me.”

 

He had already started her on staff drills. Maybe it was time to get Ruby her first practice scythe. Qrow stood up and headed for the door. There was a small little bar down the road that was calling his name.

 

“Thanks. Uncle Qrow.”

 

Qrow’s eyes widened. It had been a long time since Yang had called him that. Maybe he wouldn’t spend the night at a bar after all.

* * *

 

 

“Keep your guard up, kid,” Qrow called out to Ruby. The swing was slow and looping. Telegraphed and predicted from a mile away. But blocking a scythe was tricky for the unexperienced. The slender tip of the blade transformed a swipe from a scythe into something similar to a thrust from a sword. It couldn’t be easily blocked, and should be parried or dodged instead.

 

But this was blocking practice. Ruby, lips hitched upward into something between a grimace and a smirk, flawlessly stepped forward, extending her own practice scythe to block his. Or it would have been flawless if her reflexes weren’t developed with staves. She positioned her body too close to the block, and although her scythe shaft stopped his solid, the blunted blade of his practice scythe still crashed into her shoulder.

 

The blow, for all that it was light and for practice, still knocked her over onto her butt. They had been drilling for more than an hour at this point, and while Ruby loved fighting and training almost as much as cookies, she had a limit.

 

“That’s enough for today. You’re getting sloppy. We’ll pick it up again tomorrow, when you remember to block like we’re using scythes.” Qrow was a harsh instructor, and he knew it. But Ruby was more than willing to put up with that, so he focused on giving her the skills she would need to stay alive as a huntress. “What was it that you wanted to ask me about?”

 

“Oh!” Ruby bounced back onto her feet, bobbing up and down like an excitable puppy. “I wanted to talk about designing my own scythe!”

 

Qrow internally groaned. “Kid, you’re going to need to make a weapon when you attend Signal anyway. You’ve got more than another year before you need to worry about that. Can’t it wait until then?”

 

Ruby grinned at him. The same grin that she always wore when he didn’t want to get work done – somewhere in between teasing and indulgent. God, he missed Summer looking at him like that.

 

“I _know_ that, but I was helping Yang start to plan her gauntlets, and I have _sooooo_ many ideas!” Ruby squealed. She was visibly bouncing in place now and looked more excited than the day Qrow had brought Zwei home, hoping a constant companion would keep Tai active. It had actually helped a bit too. Tai was smiling more than Qrow had seen since Summer’s death, and he was getting more involved in Yang’s life. But much as Yang had feared, Ruby was not seeing any more of Tai than she had last year.

 

“Look, kid,” Qrow started, before trailing off. He had no idea how to bring these things up. “We’ve got a lot to talk about before you commit to using a scythe. I know you like training with one, and it’s something that I can teach you, but – look, study weapon design until you’re eleven, and then we’ll talk. By that point, you’ll actually have some of the background you’ll need to start working on your own scythe. If you need any books to learn from, let me know.”

 

Ruby immediately started pouting and arguing, but Qrow had already stopped listening. His niece wanted to follow his footsteps and take up the scythe. And he knew both Ruby and himself well enough to know that he wouldn’t convince her otherwise.

 

Skilled scythe users were rare. That rarity combined with the difficulty of their chosen weapon meant that scythe users were highly valued for certain jobs. In particular, jobs that involved fighting other humans instead of the creatures of Grimm. He had a few months to plan, but that was going to be a long talk when Ruby turned eleven.

 

But if he was going to say everything he needed to say, then first, Yang needed to hear some home truths that Tai had sworn to never tell her.

 

* * *

 

 

 _Today’s the day_. Qrow heaved a sigh. It had been nice, being close to his nieces for the last few years. Yang had been avoiding him for the last two months, ever since Tai had told her about Raven and the Branwen Tribe. And while that hurt, Qrow knew that part of it was Yang adjusting, and that she would open back up to him. No, he was much more worried about Ruby’s reaction. She wanted to be like Summer. A hero.

 

He looked forlornly at his flask. Ruby deserved better than that for this conversation, but damn if it wouldn’t help to throw back a swig or two.

 

“C’mon, kiddo,” Qrow said, hitching a bag higher up on his shoulders. “We’re going for a run in the forest.”

 

In the blink of an eye, Ruby was by his side, wearing a training outfit that she had been gifted for her birthday. Black combat boots with red trim – his functional contribution – and a black long-sleeve layered dress, with a skirt that opened up like a flower, trimmed in rose-petal red. Ruby’s cloak, so much like Summer’s, was clasped at her chest, never absent unless it was being washed. The last bit of the outfit – Yang’s gift – was a corset, accented by Ruby’s belt, which had a metal cross hanging from it, so much like his own cross necklace.

 

“You sure you want to wear that on a run, kid?”

 

“It’s a combat outfit, Uncle Qrow.” Ruby rolled her eyes as if that was blindingly obvious and Qrow should have already known that. Qrow was just wondering how a corset was conducive to breathing correctly during fighting and running. “Might as well break it in. Now let’s go!” Ruby shouted over her shoulder as she ran out the door. Well, at least she was eager. Ruby always had loved to run.

 

Qrow caught up to Ruby, taking control of their route, and leading her to a spot in the forest where he had already planned to have this chat. It was a patch of thinner trees near a stream, which had a big oak that Ruby liked to climb. Once they reached the spot, Qrow jumped up and took a seat in one of the oak’s branches, imitating his namesake. “Come on up, kiddo.”

 

“Do you know why I brought you here?” He asked, hoping against hope that Ruby had forgotten.

 

“We’re going to talk about my scythe,” Ruby whispered with glee, after she got comfortable next to him on the branch.

 

“Yeah, kid. We’re going to talk about scythes,” Qrow conceded. “And some other things besides. I haven’t been too honest with you about some things in my past that you’ve asked about. It’s time for me to come clean about everything.”

 

Ruby softly gasped. Uncle Qrow almost never talked about his past. Was she going to learn about the mysterious Aunt Raven – Yang’s missing mother? Was she going to hear about her own mom? What about her mom, dad, aunt and uncle at Beacon as Team STRQ? Ruby knew her mom must have been awesome, even back then. She was the leader after all.

 

“I need you to promise me something Ruby.”

 

Ruby immediately snapped back to the present. Uncle Qrow almost never called her by name. He just called her “kid”, as if she was five. She frowned a little. This must be serious. “What is it, Uncle Qrow?”

 

Qrow leaned against the trunk of the tree and heaved a sigh. “It’s that right there. This talk is gonna be about some ugly stuff, Ruby. I need you to know that, at the end, I’m still your Uncle Qrow. And I’ll be there for you.”

 

Uncle Qrow’s eyes were staring straight into Ruby’s. He was concerned, even if it was a silly thing to worry about. “Until the day you die, Uncle Qrow. I remember. And you’re family.”

 

If there was one thing that Ruby had always taken seriously, it was family. After Summer died, Ruby had tried not to waste a day when it came to her family. She wanted them to always know they were loved, and that she would be there if they needed her. It was a bit of an empty off, with as young as she was, but when Dad and Yang couldn’t cook, she had learned. When Yang was feeling overwhelmed trying to look out for her and Dad, Ruby would trap her in blankets and force her to relax on the couch with a cookie or two. Even if that meant laying on top of Yang, so that she wouldn’t try too hard to move. Uncle Qrow was family, and that would never change.

 

“Heh. Thanks kid.” And Qrow meant it too. He actually felt reassured. “But that’s part of this talk too. What’s my name? And don’t say ‘Uncle Qrow.’”

 

“Qrow Branwen,” Ruby replied.

 

“That’s right. And have you ever heard of the Branwen Tribe?” Qrow prompted.

 

Ruby tilted her head back and looked at the leaves above, rocking back and forth while she tried to remember ever hearing about them. Who lived in tribes now anyway? Faunus, maybe? “Nope,” Ruby replied, popping the ‘p’. “Are they your family?”

 

“They’re uhhh…” Qrow hesitated for a moment, before deciding to get it over with. “They’re a bandit tribe in Anima. The tribe that raised me and Raven.”

 

Ruby’s head snapped around to stare at his face. “A bandit tribe? Does that mean you…”

 

“Yeah, kid. I was a bandit. I was raised by the tribe from as young as I could remember. They were…” He trailed off, searching for the word.

 

“Family,” Ruby answered. “They were family, same as Aunt Raven is.”

 

Qrow had long ago given up on telling Ruby that Raven was not her aunt. Ruby would just reply that since he was Uncle Qrow, Raven, his sister, must be Aunt Raven. After all, Raven was Yang’s mom. She must be family.

 

“Yeah,” Qrow exhaled the word as he turned away, almost as if he was afraid of it. “But to them, being family was something you had to earn. And not just once either. You had to prove you belonged, that you were strong. And then you had to keep on proving that you deserved to stay, by helping the tribe. By being a bandit.”

 

When he looked back, Ruby looked furious. Which was honestly unnerving, given that she generally had the temperament of an energetic puppy. “That’s not how family should be. Family should be there for you,” Ruby angrily muttered, as she locked eyes with Qrow. “Always.”

 

Qrow agreed, although he hadn’t always. Growing up in the Branwen Tribe, it had been about strength and purpose. There were those that did not deserve to be a part of the family, those who were strong enough but not willing to do what was necessary, and then there was the family. They would always look out for their own. But “their own” were the strong and the willing. Everyone else didn’t belong in the Tribe. They weren’t family. They were impostors. A hanger-on wasn’t the same as a sibling. A sycophant isn’t a cousin. At least, that’s what they had said.

 

“I did terrible things to be a part of that family, Ruby.” Qrow needed Ruby to understand his past, and where the next part of their discussion would be going. “I stole, I fought and I killed. I killed innocent people.”

 

If Qrow expected Ruby to flinch back or run, then he was in for a surprise. Ruby was glaring her best glare, but it didn’t seem to be directed at him. “Tell me,” she ordered, sliding closer to him, until she couldn’t get any closer.

 

“It was kill innocents or leave everything I had ever known. The Tribe doesn’t look kindly on traitors. They might have tried to kill me if I left.” Qrow’s eyes became blank as he remembered those days. He grimaced. “Or at least, that’s the excuse I gave myself. Never accept an excuse like that from yourself, Ruby. Be better than I was. If I was going to be hunted by the Tribe, I should have accepted that instead of killing innocents like I did.”

 

Qrow refused to look at Ruby while talking about this subject, so he didn’t see her start to stand up. But he did feel her climb into his lap and hug him around the neck, in a way she hadn’t done since she was years younger. Ruby had always been a very tactile person, but she was rarely so willing to cuddle up to someone that wasn’t Yang.

 

“You’re still my Uncle Qrow,” Ruby insisted. In an attempt to switch topics, Ruby asked the only question that sprang to mind. “If that’s how you grew up, why did you go to Beacon?”

 

Qrow swung his legs up onto the tree branch and rested his back against the tree trunk, while he hugged his niece to his chest. “Because our tribe was too successful. We couldn’t go to Haven, in Mistral. The name ‘Branwen’ was too well known. We would have been recognized, but that wasn’t a problem at Beacon. The Tribe sent us there to learn to kill hunters, the one last threat to the Tribe.”

 

There it was. Qrow had finally told her his secret. He had told Ruby that he originally went to Beacon to learn to kill hunters. Hunters like Summer and Tai. Hunters that Ruby aspired to be like.

 

Qrow could feel Ruby’s jaw clench and her hands fist in his shirt, but she didn’t say a word. “While I was there, I met your parents and Ozpin, and I learned what family is really like. As much as I think you’re too young to learn to fight, more than anything, I hope that one day, you’ll find that as well. Family like I had on Team STRQ.” Qrow’s voice had grown soft as they continued talking, and he held her like she was going to drift out of his arms at the slightest breeze. “That’s what I wish for you, squirt. Make sure you treasure your team. I know you’ll get one. Your time will come.”

 

Ruby quickly nodded several times, as Qrow felt his shirt get damp near where her face was.

 

“This _does_ connect to you using a scythe,” Qrow whispered.

 

Ruby’s head whipped up to look at his face. She wasn’t crying heavily, but a few tears were making their way down her face.

 

“The Tribe wanted me to use a scythe because most people, hunters included, don’t know how to fight against a scythe,” Qrow admitted. “That’s why I usually use Harbinger as a sword now. I don’t need to worry about that aspect of using a scythe, and when I do need to use Harbinger’s scythe form, it gives me an extra edge. But there’s a reason scythe users are called reapers, Ruby. We’re prized for our unusual combat style. Something that makes no difference when fighting Grimm, but that can make all the difference in the world against another person.”

 

Ruby’s jaw remained clenched, and the glare was back. She pounded a fist against Qrow’s chest. “I’m going to use a scythe, Uncle Qrow. Whether you teach me or not. That’s not changing.”

 

Qrow groaned, while slapping a palm to his forehead, surprising a laugh from Ruby. “Gods preserve me from overly stubborn nieces,” he teased. “And the other one is even worse.” He took a moment to tickle Ruby and try to lighten the mood. Her squirming almost knocked them out of the tree, but it was worth it, after such an emotional day.

 

“If you’re so set on it, then you should learn from an expert, not some idiot,” Qrow admitted. “And knowing you, if you tried to learn alone, you would be down a limb, and Tai would never forgive me. Setting aside how mad Yang would be.” He tousled her hair before making eye contact. “But I won’t take it easy on you, kid. I was never a great teacher before, but your training is about to get ten times worse. Gods forgive me, but I’m going to teach you to kill. And not just Grimm either. One thing that they don’t always teach in the academies is that Grimm aren’t the worst things out there, Ruby. People are. And some people just can’t be left alive. Only hunters can handle them. If we don’t, then innocents will suffer. I despise needless killing, but I still take missions to kill appropriate targets.”

 

“I want to save people Uncle Qrow,” Ruby said. It was phrased as if she were protesting, but her tone said that she was accepting what he said.

 

“Okay, kid, I won’t stop you. Tomorrow, your training starts for real, and I’ll teach you to respect the weapon. Happy belated birthday,” He said, dumping her back onto the branch and jumping to the ground.

 

“Wait! Where are you going?” Ruby scrambled down the tree trunk to follow him.

 

“I’m going to the bar,” Qrow replied. “I desperately need a drink after bringing up all those memories. C’mon, you can drag my drunk ass home tonight, I’m going to need it. In the meanwhile, I’ll teach you some card tricks.”

* * *

 

 

Ruby learned her uncle’s lessons well. By the time she was halfway through her time at Signal, she was far and away the deadliest student in attendance. In fact, she was so skilled, that it was almost inevitable that she would catch the attention of others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the summary mentions, I really really liked the Red trailer's aesthetic, and I was sort of disappointed when the series moved away from that. This fic is primarily inspired by that aesthetic, and the idea of Ruby being old enough to really feel the full impact of Summer's death. As a result, she seriously sets out to become a huntress from a young age, and fully deserves to be in Beacon two years early, with all the combat capability that that implies.
> 
> This version of Remnant is a bit grimmer, making use of the canonical presence of bandit tribes and the harsh response that the kingdoms of Remnant would probably have toward those that prey on villages and innocent people. Similarly for those with unlocked auras that act as criminals, since their actions are likely to attract Grimm. This is my attempt to explore such a setting with a different take on Ruby
> 
> If anyone wants to beta read, talk plot arcs or point out errors I've made, just leave me a review. I could use a couple people to serve as sounding boards while I try to develop my ideas for this fic further. Thanks for reading, and I hope I caught your interest.


	2. Chapter 1 Or "Old Man Shopkeep's Terrible Day"

“Now that’s a katana,” Ruby whispered to herself. The delicate curve of the blade, its clean silhouette and its obvious cutting power made for an enticing image. _Weapons_ Magazine always did have the best new product images. Not that she planned on buying something of the sort. She read it for the articles.

 

Ruby was in Vale this evening. The daughters of the Xiao-Long family often left Patch and went into Vale proper for the day if they needed access to things that could not easily be found on Patch. Their little island was a wonderful place to grow up, but aside from the presence of Signal Academy, there was little else on Patch aside from small-town stores. Today, Ruby needed Dust, and while Dust was available on Patch, she was looking for something special, if not completely customized. Her favorite Dust shop, From Dust Till Dawn should have just what she needs.

 

“It has nothing on you though, sweetheart,” the redhead said, patting her compacted sniper-scythe in reassurance. Crescent Rose knew that she liked to look, but that Crescent was the only weapon for her. Indeed, Crescent was the reason for this trip. Ruby always kept her chosen weapon very well maintained, but inevitably, she would work through the custom Dust-infused rounds that she kept for creating specialized effects. Today, she needed black Dust. It was one of the rarer forms of Dust, so it could be hard to get in places like Patch, but it was also essential to getting the most out of Crescent – a weapon that many might call impractically designed. Those heathens just didn’t understand perfection when they saw it.

 

Old man Shopkeep hadn’t even asked what she was looking for today. Maybe she was becoming a regular!

 

Or maybe it was because she had her custom headphones on, blaring music, and her hood up, blocking out as much of the world around her as possible. Okay, maybe she was feeling a bit moody today, but it was hardly her fault. Yang was leaving for Beacon next week! Yang was her sister, protector, idol, confidant and the light of her world. Ruby adored her sister, and everything that she had done to care for Ruby after their mom died and their dad shut down. They both always knew that Yang would be leaving for Beacon before Ruby, but that didn’t make the process any easier on them.

 

So maybe she was hiding from her problems a bit. Uncle Qrow always told her that the only problem you couldn’t hide from was one that followed you home the next morning. But this problem was already at home, so that didn’t help at all! Ruby briefly considered drinking away her problems like Uncle Qrow did, but that didn’t seem like it would work either. So getting out of the house and spending some quality time doing restocking shopping for Crescent was the next best thing.

 

Ruby heaved a sigh as she put the magazine back on its rack, and let her hands drop to idly play with the cross necklace dangling from her belt. She was happy for Yang, even if she would miss her sister dearly. And she would still have dad and Zwei around! Maybe she would try to teach Zwei a new combo attack. Training him as a battle corgi might have been Yang’s best idea in years.

 

A hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, knocking the hood off her head. A tall man with a thick neck, red tinted sunglasses – being worn inside, the idiot – and eyebrows that ended by tailing _up_ his forehead was trying to get her attention. Well, this was embarrassing. He had probably been talking to her, and she hadn’t heard a word because of her headphones, which he hadn’t been able to tell that she was wearing.

 

“Yes?” She chirped as she took off her headphones, making a conscious effort to be cheerful after her being stuck in her saddening thoughts.

 

“I _said_ ‘Put your hands in the air!’”

 

Sunglasses Guy can’t be serious. Is he… “Are you robbing me?” This was almost comical. Ruby took a moment to give Sunglasses Guy a quick glance before he answered. He was a large guy, and maybe fairly intimidating to small children. The weapon he was holding would be intimidating to the average civilian, maybe. If they were also a small child.

 

A red sword, thin and about as long as her arm, but blocky without any elegance or charm. It had a curve to the blade, but the curve wasn’t elegant like the katana in _Weapons_ and didn’t have the gorgeous, sweeping expanse that Crescent’s blade did. It came to a flat top rather than thinning to point, so it would be useless for thrusting. That was just poor design right there. It made it easier to manufacture many copies, but the weapons themselves must have been mass produced at best. Yeah, this guy wasn’t a threat.

 

“ _Yes_!”

 

“Ooooooooohhhh.” Ruby smirked a little bit. At least she would get to blow off some steam. Probably best to be gentle, since there was almost no way that Sunglasses Guy had an active Aura with such a terrible weapon. There was no way she was going to swing Crescent around in a Dust shop. That was asking for an explosion. So that only left one or two options, seeing as she was nowhere near the hand-to-hand fighter that Yang was.

 

A new song came on over her headphones. Gods, she loved fighting with a soundtrack.

 

Dashing under the thug’s arm, Ruby slammed the point of her elbow upwards under the bottom of his ribcage. That should keep him gasping for breath for a while. Pivoting around his body, she grabbed his now slack arm, so that she was standing behind him with his arm held away from his body, facing the magazine rack. Maybe she would come back to finish that copy of _Weapons_ another time. It didn’t seem like any of the articles in that issue were very useful, but some of the pictures were just too amazing to pass up.

 

Spinning around, Ruby activated her Semblance. The burst of speed tore Sunglasses Guy off of his feet, and by the lurching extra bit of extension in his arm, probably tore the poor guy’s arm straight out of its socket. This was definitely the end of his fight. Ruby released him 180 degrees later, sending him bouncing along the floor to the front of the shop.

 

Old man Shopkeep clearly needs to let people with weapons into his shop, given that most people buying Dust at this kind of establishment are doing so for use with weapons, but still. Trying to rob someone in a Dust shop? How dumb could Sunglasses Guy be?

 

It was at that moment that Sunglasses Guy came back around the shelves. Ruby reared back in surprise. Maybe he did have an activated Aura if he recovered that quickly.

 

“Freeze!” He yelled, brandishing a pistol that started to emit a high-pitched whine. Dust-powered pistol, small caliber, probably firing Dust-infused rounds. A quality weapon, if a bit low-powered for her taste. Something like that would never crack an Ursa’s mask, let alone anything tougher. And Sunglasses Guy must have been an idiot to consider firing that thing inside a Dust shop, unless he wanted everyone on the block to potentially die.

 

Oh wait… Pistol. This probably wasn’t the same guy. But they were virtually identical! Ruby mentally shook herself. _Not now, Ruby. Be confused when someone isn’t pointing a gun at you. If there’s more than one, then old man Shopkeep is the one being robbed, not you._

 

With the speed her Semblance gave her, there was most likely no one alive that could accurately track Ruby with a gun. One quick kick to the family jewels – remember Ruby, all’s fair in love and ass-kicking – and a throw later, this Sunglasses Guy followed the first one, but this one went straight through the window. Ruby followed close behind. She needed to be away from volatile Dust if she was really going to cut loose in this fight.

 

Ruby heard several other armed men coming to the front of the store to look at her, so she took her time standing up. Sure, making Crescent completely tuned to her Aura while Ruby was forging her had been tedious, but it was worth it for moments like this. As Ruby stood, she activated Crescent’s mech-shift components, but flared her Aura, causing the weapon to transform slowly. The butt stock of the blocky, compact rifle extended, transforming into the shaft of a scythe. The blockier components around the rifle’s barrel unfolding in both directions, as the barrel elongated. As the broad blade extended outward, Ruby froze in place, not facing the shop, cloak blowing in the wind, with her Darling laid across her shoulders. Then she turned to grin at the thugs.

 

Uncle Qrow’s words echoed in her mind. “Remember, Ruby. Fighting people isn’t like fighting Grimm. People can be far more clever and unpredictable. But if there’s one thing to remember about people, it’s that you can win a battle against people before the fight even starts. If you intimidate the hell out of them and throw them off their game, you’ve already mostly won. And if a look at Crescent’s massive blade won’t do it, then flaunt some skill. People can never quite wrap their heads around someone spinning a scythe taller than they are around their body.”

 

Crescent was resting heavy on her shoulders, but the weight was familiar and comfortable, even if it was far heavier than most conventional weapons. With a discreet bend of her knees and some heavy work from her core, Ruby threw her sweetheart into a couple twirls, just to show off. During one of the one-handed transitions, she also pulled off her headphones, before planting Crescent’s blade in the road. That was going to make a nasty pothole, but not her problem.

 

She clicked her headphones off – intro soundtrack, over. Her cloak was still blowing in the wind, stretched out behind her, as she left one hand on her baby. She must look like such a badass right now. Uncle Qrow would be proud.

 

It turns out that the whole group of thugs that was robbing the store were dressed identically, except for the guy that was clearly the ringleader. Oh well. At least they had dressed nicely to get beaten up.

 

The ringleader was very distinctive, and Ruby felt like she recognized him from somewhere, but couldn’t place it. She was awful with names and faces. And talking to people. And social stuff in general. He had bright orange hair, which probably got him teased as a child, and a long white coat. The scarf was a nice touch, but it was the black bowler hat, complete with feather that gave the outfit its personality. This guy had a sense of style. And probably an active Aura if the look was anything to go by.

 

Meanwhile, the Sunglasses Crew had started to rush her. Looked like mostly guys with swords, with one of them having a gun. Popping into a one-handed flag pose on Crescent’s shaft, Ruby spun around before slamming both feet into Thug Three’s face. If being a professional hero didn’t work out, and her backup weapon-designing business didn’t succeed, she could probably have a backup backup career as a gymnast/acrobat.

 

Landing with Crescent in hand, no longer buried in asphalt, Ruby aimed the head of her scythe away from the other thugs before pulling the trigger. It would be bad for a bullet to hit these guys, even if it wasn’t Dust-infused. Crescent was built around the base of a high caliber anti-material sniper rifle. If one of her bullets hit a civilian with no active Aura, they wouldn’t just die. They would be in multiple pieces.

 

Ruby spun with the recoil, swinging Crescent backhanded in a rising strike, making sure that only a blunt surface was aimed at her opponents. Her strike caught Thug 4 in the ribs, and given Crescent’s heft and speed, several of those ribs were now broken. Maybe a leg too, as he finished falling from fifteen feet in the air. That had been a good hit.

 

Finishing her rotation, Ruby slammed the back of Crescent’s head into the ground, clubbing Thug 5 with her downswing as she did. Not stopping to take note of his condition, Ruby sped back to make some space as Thug 6 started firing his rifle at her. She dodged the shots solely by using recoil from firing Crescent, as a bit of live-fire practice. Need to keep those skills sharp. Relying on your Semblance all the time was a good way to end up dead, according to Uncle Qrow. If there was one thing any enemy should never do, it was give Ruby Rose space. Her acceleration was insane to start with. If you gave her extra room to get up to speed, then you deserved what was coming to you.

 

And in Thug 6’s case, that was a quick trip to unconsciousness. With all the thugs down, she turned to face the ringleader, who seemed to be reconsidering some of his most recent life decisions. Although not the decision to be a criminal apparently.

 

“You were worth every cent. Truly, you were,” he grumbled around his cigar. It must be so difficult to get good help these days, if this was a group that the ringleader had actually paid to work with.

 

As he started to take the cigar out of his mouth, Ruby blurted out, “I like your hat!” Both of them froze.

 

Visibly deciding to ignore what she had said, the ringleader continues his previous thought, “Well, Red, I think we can all say it has been an eventful evening.” He dropped the cigar and stomped it out, as the sound of an approaching police siren rang in the distance. “And as much as I would like to stick around, I believe this is where we part ways.”

 

The ringleader was now pointing his cane at her. The bottom of his cane was mostly a perfectly circular black hole, and the very end popped up into a gun sight with a cheery _Bloop_.

 

He has an awesome hat and a cane that is also a gun. Definitely an active Aura.

 

Continuing the earlier trend, Ruby used Crescent’s recoil to dodge his shot, firing straight downward. This street was acquiring an alarming number of potholes very quickly. Ringleader’s cane didn’t fire conventional bullets – sensible since there didn’t seem to be anywhere to load them. Instead, it seemed to fire some sort of explosive flare that detonated below Ruby, creating yet another pothole.

 

Meanwhile, while Ruby was distracted watching the result of his shot, the ringleader had made a break for a building down the street. While coming down from her gun-assisted leap, Ruby squeezed off a shot. It wasn’t her best work, since she had to get the shot off before she landed and the impact threw off her aim, but the shot still slammed into the ringleader’s shoulder, throwing him into the side of the building he was running toward. It looked like he did have an active Aura after all.

 

Old man Shopkeep was watching her from the door of the shop. “You alright if I go after him,” Ruby asked, more as a formality than anything else. Shopkeep was a tough old man, and a confident Dust thief isn’t someone she should let go either way. Getting an affirmative response, Ruby raced off after the ringleader, who was climbing a fire escape ladder, and had mostly scaled the building he had impacted. One gravity Dust-infused sniper jump later, Ruby joined him on the roof.

 

“Hey, stop!” Ruby didn’t actually expect him to stop, but any hesitation that she could get out of him would help. Instead, Ruby ended up being the one hesitating as a Bullhead rose up from the far side of the building, drawing level with the roof. Where had they been hiding that thing? This was the commercial district! Space was at a premium here, and there weren’t really many places you could fit small transport aircraft.

 

While Ruby struggled to figure out what was going on, the ringleader had hopped into the Bullhead and turned to face her. “End of the line, Red!” he shouted, holding up a burn crystal. As he pulled back to throw the crystal, Ruby engaged her Semblance, whipping Crescent up and tracking the crystal as it was thrown in her direction. Less than a third of the way to her, Ruby’s shot intercepted the crystal, detonating it in a massive explosion. The ringleader was launched backward, slamming into the inside wall of the Bullhead, while Ruby only held her ground by digging Crescent’s blade into the roof and hanging on.

 

A barrage of purple lights bombarded the Bullhead from the next roof over, rocking the ship back and forth, but failing to destabilize its flight. A blond figure, presumably whoever had launched the attack, leaped over from the adjacent roof.

 

As the Bullhead turned to fly away, the newcomer launched another attack. This one generated a storm cloud above the Bullhead, which began to rain ice spikes on the ship. That was some serious Dust sorcery. Far above the level of anything that Ruby had seen before, although she knew in theory that such things could be done. Seeing her chance, Ruby set up off to one side of the roof, behind a ventilation system, where should would be hard to hit. She sighted in on the Bullhead’s cockpit and fired a shot, trying to damage the electronics keeping the ship stable.

 

Meanwhile, a new figure had appeared in the main body of the Bullhead. She began exchanging spells with the blonde woman on Ruby’s roof. Ruby had to physically choke back a squeal. She was witnessing a real, live Dust sorcery battle!

 

A few exchanged attacks later, Ruby pulled herself together. She needed to help, not stand here gaping like a moron! She sighted in on the new figure, who was wearing a red dress, trimmed with black lace and embroidered with orange dust. That explained all the fire spell usage from that one. Ruby couldn’t get a good look at her face due to the angle of view, but she had enough of an angle to start firing off a couple of shots. The woman in red disdainfully swatted the bullets away with her bare hand, and Ruby’s estimate of their opponent’s capabilities began to skyrocket.

 

With a wave of her hand, the woman in the red dress detonated a series of explosions capped with pillars of fire on the rooftop, blocking their line of view. When the smoke cleared, the Bullhead was already too far away to possible follow.

 

Switching her attention to the blonde Huntress, Ruby begin to almost hyperventilate. She had just fought side-by-side with a _real_ Huntress! _Calm, Ruby, calm. You fight with Uncle Qrow all the time, and he’s a Huntsman. Just think of it like that_.

 

The woman had a cape! Oh, Ruby loved her already. Sure, the cape was stylized into a number of spade tips that looked almost like a bunch of devil tails, and the color palette was black and purple, but still! The rest of her outfit was composed of a black pencil skirt, and a white pleated top with a keyhole neckline. As Ruby reached the woman’s face, she found herself pinned down by an imperious gaze coming from a pair of startlingly bright lime green eyes.

 

Overwhelmed as she was, Ruby spat out the first thing that came to her mind. “How do you get your hair to hang in a curl along the side of your face like that? With that and the glasses, you look so fierce and amazing.” As heat flooded Ruby’s face, and she resisted the urge to hide inside her hood.

 

The woman restrained herself for a moment, before her palm met her forehead in an impact strong enough to have killed one of those thugs from earlier.

* * *

 

 

Ruby kept her eyes firmly fixed on the table as she got the lecture of a lifetime. This was even worse than when Yang had caught her helping Uncle Qrow drink his way through his backup flask! Glynda Goodwitch seemed like the kind of woman that was quite comfortable taking someone to task, but Ruby had been lectured enough to hear the care in it. This wasn’t an absentminded attempt to tell her that she had done wrong. This was Glynda venting a bit, but also implying that she had done well.

 

“If it were up to me,” Glynda concluded. “You would be sent home with a pat on the back.” And there it was. Ruby had done well. Glynda turned, making eye contact, and Ruby was again, shocked by the color of her eyes. “And a slap on the wrist!” Ruby let out a startled squeak and didn’t pull back fast enough to fully avoid the slap from Glynda’s riding crop across her knuckles. Seriously, where had the woman pulled that from?

 

“But,” Glynda continued, “there is someone here who would like to meet you.” Glynda stepped to the side, looking down at the scroll-pad in her hands. An older man walked in through the doorway, holding a mug in one hand, and in the other, a plate of cookies. Chocolate chip cookies at that! Ruby knew that she should pay a bit more attention to the man, but that would need to wait for now. Hopefully she could have some of those cookies.

 

“Ruby Rose,” said the silver-haired man, as he bent down to look at her. “You… have silver eyes.” Ruby was a bit confused that that’s what he led with, but she could run with it. What was it that Uncle Qrow said to do when trying to get on new people’s good sides? Play it cool, and throw in a compliment or two, while trying to make yourself look capable?

 

“Yes, yes I do,” Ruby starting, hoping that was cool enough. “And you…” Yeah, that had been a rough way to continue. “Have silver hair.” _Quick, make it a compliment, he’ll think you’re just calling him old!_ “It’s very pretty – I mean handsome. I mean distinguished!” Oh gods no. Ruby was wishing she could hide in her hood right now. The silver-haired man looked at her, nonplussed, before glancing at Glynda. She looked torn between shaking her head and bursting out laughing. As it was, she was containing herself to a few quiet giggles, which was quite unlike the Glynda he knew, but that had been rather… over the top.

 

“So,” Ozpin continued, trying to bring things back on track. He gestured to Glynda’s Scroll, which was now playing what looked like security camera footage of Ruby taking down the Sunglasses Crew. She would need to remember to ask for a copy of that for ‘training purposes’. Then she could show Uncle Qrow how cool she looked. “Where did you learn to use one of the most dangerous weapons every designed?” Scythe users were a rare breed. Especially those who used scythes with a design similar to Miss Rose’s. Ozpin was fairly sure who had taught her, given who Miss Rose’s mother must have been. He placed down the plate of cookies.

 

Ruby’s eyes went wide, as two cookies blurred out of existence and into her stomach. As a single rose petal drifted down to the table, Ozpin prompted her again.

 

“I’ve only seen one scythe user of that skill level before. And that was a dusty old crow.”

 

Half a dozen cookies and a sugar-filled sense of euphoria later, Ruby only barely managed to remember not to speak with her mouth full. She needed to pull off cool, not eight-year-old kid.

 

“That’s my Uncle Qrow! He’s been training me to be a reaper,” Ruby responded, always eager to show off her uncle, even if only by name. Glynda’s head had snapped up at the word ‘reaper’, starting intently into Ozpin’s face. She looked both concerned and quietly furious, but Ruby didn’t have an angle to see that, while still looking at Professor Ozpin.

 

“And what is an adorable girl, such as yourself, doing training as a reaper?” Ozpin carefully used her own wording for the training Uncle Qrow was giving her. Also, how did he nonchalantly slip that compliment in so casually? Why was everyone so much better at this than her? It was so unfair.

 

“I want to help people,” Ruby replied, confidence driving away her embarrassment. There was no need to explain further. She was certain about what she wanted to do and how she wanted to do it.

 

“You want to fight monsters,” Ozpin said, waiting for a response to the open-ended statement.

 

“Yeah! I only have two more years at Signal, and then I’m going to apply to Beacon. My older sister Yang is going to Beacon this coming year, and both our parents were Hunters, so it seems like the thing to do, and I always wanted to help others and to be a hero of sorts–“ Ruby was rambling as she talked more and more quickly, until Ozpin cut her off.

 

“Do you know who I am?” He asked. Of course Ruby knew who he was. Uncle Qrow had told her about the people he worked for, as well as the people who were important that she would probably meet in the coming years of her life. She had only failed to recognize Glynda Goodwitch because Uncle Qrow only ever seemed to talk about her as a stick in the mud or as a capable fighter. He had never described how she looked.

 

“You’re Professor Ozpin,” Ruby replied, sounding a little bit bashful after her rambling. “You’re the headmaster at Beacon.”

 

“Hello,” he said, distinguished and composed as ever.

 

“Nice to meet you.”

 

“You want to come to my school?” Ozpin leaned forward and watched her intently.

 

“More than _anything_ ,” Ruby confessed, heartfelt and yearning.

 

Ozpin turned to Glynda, who must have been more properly referred to as ‘Professor Goodwitch’, who just huffed and rolled her eyes.

 

“Well okay,” Ozpin said.

 

Ruby’s mouth actually dropped open. Did he mean this year? That question didn’t mean ‘attend Beacon eventually’? He meant right now?! Oh gods, she was going to need to tell Yang!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so our story properly begins. The first couple chapters are not going to have any major plot departure from canon, as I still need to get the setting moving. In two or three chapters, things should really start to deviate.
> 
> Please let me know if there's any conflicts with the prologue and if the characterization of Ruby was well done.
> 
> As before, leave a comment if you're interested in helping out with beta reading or with developing the story or characterization of characters.


	3. Chapter 2 or Making Friends is Hard

Ruby tried to open the front door as quietly as possible, not that it helped with Zwei announcing her arrival. She was sooooo late getting home, but it wasn’t her fault! Getting caught up in robberies happened sometimes, honestly.

 

“So what took you so long, squirt?” Yang was sprawled out on the couch in the living room, keeping an eye on the door. As Ruby moved further into the entryway, she could see that Uncle Qrow was in the armchair to Yang’s left, taking a swig out of his flask, even though there were perfectly good glasses in the kitchen.

 

“Some stuff happened,” Ruby said, as she walked into the room and frantically tried to figure out how to introduce this topic. “I’m fine! Totally okay. But I have bad news. And good news. And more bad news, and some other good news and… a lot happened.” Ruby flopped down on top of her sister.

 

“Oof,” Yang let the air rush out of her lungs, grabbing Ruby in a hug. Zwei joined them on the couch, climbing up to try to lick Ruby’s face.

 

“Not really inspiring confidence there, kid,” Uncle Qrow drew her attention back to the room. Her dad was sitting in the other armchair, left of the doorway she had walked in, so she hadn’t immediately seen him.

 

“Take it from the top, Rubes,” Taiyang prompted, looking a little worn out, but visibly relieved to see Ruby.

 

Ruby settled in a bit more comfortably on top of Yang, her arms loosely looped around her sister’s neck. “I was in From Dust Till Dawn, picking up a reload of the rounds for my sweetheart, like I told you. But while I was there, someone tried to rob the shop. But I’m okay!”

 

Yang’s arms went from loosely wrapped around Ruby’s back to squeezing her in a crushing hug immediately. Ruby let that revelation sink in, while she struggled to breathe through her sister’s hug. Looking back at Yang, Ruby locked eyes with her sister, who seemed concern, checking Ruby’s face and upper body, as if she was going to find some wound or remnant of her evening. Ruby just lightly smiled and bumped her forehead against Yang’s.

 

Behind her, out of her line of sight, Qrow had locked eyes with Taiyang, who looked like he was going to rip the arms off his chair if his grip got any tighter. “Well, that’s the bad news. Doesn’t seem to be too bad though, given that you seem fine, kiddo. Did you keep your head down and get out of the situation?” Qrow thought it best to just get the details out there quickly.

 

“Of course not! I couldn’t just let Old Man Shopkeep’s place get robbed,” Ruby seemed offended at the very idea. She craned around from her position to try to look at her uncle. “I beat up the robbers, and kept my favorite Dust seller safe. Even threw one right out the front window with my bare hands!”

 

Qrow facepalmed. He couldn’t help it. That’s exactly the kind of thing his favorite niece would do. She would never stand by and let someone get hurt, despite only being half trained. Granted, she was far better than anyone else studying at Signal right now, but that didn’t make her anywhere near invincible. She wasn’t up to his standards yet. Meanwhile, Tai had sagged back in his chair and heaved a sigh somewhere between relief and exasperation.

 

“Thanks for teaching me to throw people, by the way,” Ruby added, ducking her head back down near Yang’s. That provided the small push that Yang needed to get over her surprise. “Yeah! That’s my baby sis!” If anything, Yang was now hugging her even harder, one hand on her upper back, and the other one tousling her hair. Ruby just smiled brightly at her and enjoyed the attention.

 

“Who’s stupid enough to be robbing Dust shops in Vale?” Qrow had collected himself enough to start thinking this situation through. “They have to know that the kingdoms don’t react well to that kind of thing. Robbery is one thing, but people would hear about robberies at Dust shops, and it would cause minor panic among some of the civilians. That would draw a big reaction.” The mood in the room sobered a little bit. When a population panicked, it brought the attention of Grimm. As a result, crimes and actions that were likely to cause an increase in Grimm attacks were aggressively punished by the kingdoms whenever possible. Especially in large cities, like Vale.

 

“They were mostly hired muscle, I think,” Ruby answered. “Big guys, but cheap weapons, little or no training, no active Auras for the most part. Although there was one person that was clearly in charge. Redhead, with a long white coat, black hat and used a modified cane that fired mortar-style explosive shells. Definitely a custom weapon, and he had an active Aura. He ran with some of the Dust after I took out his hired muscle.”

 

“Sounds like you’re describing a guy named Roman Torchwick,” Qrow mused. “He’s a well-known thief, but he doesn’t normally do anything as dumb as going after large amounts of Dust. Torchwick probably got hired to pull the job. I’ll need to let Oz know that someone’s pulling out all the stops on Dust robberies.”

 

Ruby looked about as awkward as she could, while still being sprawled out on top of Yang. “Errr, that’s part of the other news. Let me finish first.” Ruby wanted to save her surprise for last if at all possible. “I tried to run down the leader, but he climbed a fire escape to the top of a building. When I ran up after him, he was climbing into a Bullhead that had flown up to get him. So whoever he’s working with somehow snuck a Bullhead into the Commercial District at street level. While he went to fly the thing, the woman who came to pick him up started throwing around raw Dust attacks. The only reason I got out of there as well as I did was because a Huntress showed up to help.”

 

That news left everyone puzzled. Raw Dust manipulation was certainly something that could be done, but it was relatively uncommon because of the associated risk. Working with raw Dust required disciple, precision and training. One slip, and the elemental power that Dust unleashed would blow up in your face. Most people just stuck with Dust rounds for their firearms or making use of Dust in other technology.

 

“What did the Huntress look like,” her dad asked. “We probably know her.”

 

“Tall,” Ruby instantly replied. The Huntress had towered over her. “Blond hair that curled down the side of her face and really bright green eyes.” Ruby grinned a little bit. “Wore a cape.” And man, did Ruby ever feel vindicated by that fact.

 

Tai and Qrow looked at each other, speaking at the same time, “Glynda.”

 

They turned back to Ruby and Yang, Qrow explaining, “Glynda Goodwitch – professor at Beacon Academy. She was a student there around the same time as me and your old man. She’s a really uptight, by the book sort, but underneath all that, she’s a good person. Someone it always pays to have on your side, even if she doesn’t know when to cut loose. Specializes in fighting with raw Dust usage and her Semblance rather than weaponry, although she does use a riding crop to help focus her Semblance. So, what ended up happening?”

 

Glynda Goodwitch. Ruby would need to remember that. And an instructor at Beacon as well. “Torchwick and the other woman got away. Glynda wanted to talk to me about how I ended up fighting them and go through a debrief. I ended up talking with her and Professor Ozpin. So, he already knows about the robbery, Uncle Qrow.” Ruby was starting to rush through he words in an effort to get it all out. “Anyway, Professor Ozpin was really impressed with my skills after he watched the security footage of my fight, and he sort of invited me to Beacon.”

 

Dead silence. And then, in a flurry of motion, Ruby was under Yang instead of on top of her. Yang was holding her down, tickling her ribs with one hand and mussing her hair up even more with the other. “That’s amazing! I get to go to Beacon with my baby sister?”

 

In between gasps and laughs, Ruby attempted to confirm that that’s the offer that Ozpin had made, but she could hardly get out the words. Eventually, Yang settled down a bit, and she and Ruby ended up sitting side by side on the couch.

 

“So,” Ruby started, somewhat uncertain. “I wanted to ask you guys about attending Beacon early. Professor Ozpin said that I was more than skilled enough in combat, and going to Beacon is all I’ve ever wanted to do.” And it would mean that she and Yang wouldn’t be separated for the next two years, which was a pretty big pro in her book.

 

Uncle Qrow and her dad looked stupefied. Uncle Qrow got himself together first. “Kiddo… I think you’ve got the combat skills to do fine at Beacon. I made sure of that. But do you really want to skip two years of school before going there? You’ll be able to kick more ass than most people there, but you’ll be way behind in your classes.”

 

Oh. She hadn’t really thought about that. She had just been thinking about how amazing it would be to go to Beacon with Yang. “Aw, come on Uncle Qrow, I can help her get caught up,” Yang interjected. If Ruby didn’t already love her big sister too much for her to handle, then this would seal the deal. Thank the gods for her big sister. “It’ll be extra work, but come on! Beacon two years early! That’s amazing, and by Ozpin’s own invitation, no less.”

 

Ruby and Yang both turned to their dad with pleading looks on their faces. Tai knew that he wasn’t ready to give up both his little girls and live alone in the house that he used to live in with Summer and his girls. But he also knew that, in his grief, he hadn’t always done right by his daughters, and he refused to make that mistake again. “Of course you can go,” he said, giving the best smile he could manage.

 

“Yes!” Yang was already celebrating, but Ruby was still worried about her dad. “Are you sure you’ll be okay without us, Dad?” She still remembered weeks where she and Yang had to make sure that her father ate, and that the house was supplied with groceries.

 

“Don’t worry about your dad, kiddo,” Uncle Qrow interrupted. “It’s about time I moved in, anyway. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on him.” Qrow would be damned if he was going to let Tai languish alone. When he had promised to be there for Ruby, he had squared away a lot of his issues and dedicated himself to being on Patch. It wouldn’t be much of a change to moving in after the girls left and keeping an eye on Tai.

 

* * *

 

“This is the best day ever!” Yang was still freaking out over Ruby coming to Beacon with her, even weeks later. And she was squeezing the life out of Ruby on the airship to Beacon.

 

“Yang! Air!” It’s not that Ruby didn’t like Yang’s hugs. She loved Yang’s hugs. They were felt like safety and love and the comfort she had needed as a young girl, feeling abandoned by her recently deceased mom. But Yang was stronger than she sometimes accounted for, and Ruby enjoyed breathing even more than hugs. The only thing that Ruby might enjoy more than breathing is chocolate chip cookies. But who wouldn’t?

 

“Aren’t you excited? You’re going to Beacon two years early! It’s incredible,” Yang gushed. She was firmly in big sister/mom hybrid mode. “Everyone’s going to think you’re amazing!”

 

“Yaaaaannngggg,” Ruby whined, glancing around the airship to make sure that the others weren’t staring at her too much. “I don’t want everyone staring at me. I just want to be another normal girl, going to be Beacon.”

 

“Psshhhhhh.” Yang rolled her eyes dramatically. “As if training to be a Huntsman is normal. And even beyond that, you’re here two years early, use a scythe – which is significantly bigger than you are, by the way – and you might be the most lethal student enrolled already. Give up on normal now, little sis.”

 

With every word, Ruby shrunk further and further into herself, trying to hide from anyone that might be watching. Her sister wasn’t wrong, but she didn’t want to be that weird girl! People take it personally when younger people get advanced up to their level. She already knew people were going to think she didn’t belong.

 

“Yang, it’s bad enough that I’m here early at all. But two years? At Ozpin’s invitation? I already know there’ll be people that think I won’t belong. I just want to fly under the radar.”

 

Yang calmed down and grabbed her by the shoulders. “I know you, Ruby,” she said. “You don’t do flying under the radar. You wouldn’t be you if you did. If people don’t think you belong, prove them wrong. I’ll be with you every step of the way, and you’ll make friends in no time, you’ll see.” She pulled her little sister into another hug. This one gentler and more supportive as she slowly rocked from side to side. “We just need to get you out of your shell a bit.”

 

Ruby buried her head in Yang’s shoulder. Which wasn’t hard considering Yang’s shoulders were roughly at the level of Ruby’s eyes. “Can’t I just stick to your side until we get to fight things?” Ruby whined a little bit.

 

“You can do it Ruby. I know you can. And I’m proud of you for doing this.” Yang let go of Ruby and stepped toward the window. “Now come on and look at the view!”

 

It wasn’t long before they were disembarking from the ship.

 

* * *

 

Ruby entirely forgot her earlier nervousness while they walked away from the landing pad. She had more important things to focus on. Like that chain sword. Or that zweihander. Or that _beautiful_ fire sword. Oh gods, how did that collapsible staff hold up under blows? The construction was so thin to make to telescoping, how did it not buckle? Ooooo, that halberd was nice. It had nothing on her baby of course, but still. Nice.

 

Yang, meanwhile, was amusedly watching her sister. She was about 85% confident that Ruby didn’t know that she was actually mumbling all of this out loud to herself, while holding her hands below her chin. Her sister was such an adorable goof.

 

“Why don’t you go talk to them about their weapons” Yang asked, trying to break Ruby out of her stupor. “It’ll be a good way to start on making friends, and you won’t just be creepily staring and mumbling.”

 

Ruby blushed brick red and visibly restrained herself from hiding in her hood. “It’s hard. Seeing new weapons is like meeting new people, except _better_.” Yang just shook her head. Ruby was such a weapons nut. Ruby had gone back to scanning the weapons, noting someone who’s weapon was massively compacted using mech-shift techniques. She might need to see if she could incorporate some of those folding methods into Crescent, so that she could fold even smaller.

 

“Okay, Rubes. You’ve forced my hand, and I’m taking desperate measures,” Yang said, as she started to walk toward Ruby.

 

“Uhhhhh, Yang? What do you mean by that?” Ruby’s eyes were wide as she tried to back away from her older sister, who grabbed her around the waist and picked her up.

 

“I see my friends from Signal,” Yang told her. “I’m going to go catch up with them for a bit, and I want you to meet some new people in the meantime. So, I’m going to toss you toward that fountain over there, and you make friends with whoever you land by, okay? Okay.”

 

Ruby had just enough time to panic and try to object before her sister tossed her. Yang’s throw wasn’t meant to hurt her or anything, and she could easily make sure that she landed safely. But really? Ditching her so soon? Dammit, Yang.

 

Ruby flipped over and oriented herself so that was facing the direction she was traveling, cloak streaming out behind her. Unfortunately, she did so just quickly enough to fly directly into someone’s luggage, scattering it across the ground and landing in a heap.

 

“What are you doing?” The speaker, presumably whoever the bags belonged to, sounded pretty distressed. Ruby internally cringed. What a wonderful way to start off making friends. She would need to thank Yang later. Preferably with a sparring session.

 

“Sorry!” Ruby tried to pop up to her feet, while sounding as earnest as possible, but all the bags were making it difficult. She just ended up rolling onto a bare patch of ground to ensure that she wasn’t on top of anything fragile. Who had this much stuff?

 

“Sorry? Do you have any idea how much damage you could have caused?” The speaker was a white-haired girl in white dress and jacket combination with ruffled sleeves. She had a rather ornate rapier on her belt, with a revolver style Dust loader near the hilt of the blade. The girl was pointing at Ruby, who was still on the ground, while yelling at her rather than helping her up.

 

“This is DUST!” The girl wasn’t giving Ruby a moment to get herself in order, grabbing one of the pieces of luggage and opening. “Purified Dust,” she said, while taking out a vial of high quality Dust, which was leaking some of its contents. It was around this point that Ruby just gave up on making a new friend here. This conversation was a loss, but maybe she could salvage future interactions.

 

“I’m so sorry, but my sister just threw me at you!” Ruby yelled, trying to get a word in over the white-haired girl. When in over her head, Ruby knew she could fall back on blaming Yang. It had been Yang’s advice to Ruby for the last four years. Everyone knew that Yang could be a bit of a wild child, so giving her a bit of blame was almost never a problem.

 

The other girl still hadn’t noticed that she was spilling Dust out in a small cloud. “What kind of idiot throws someone around like that?” Now she just sounded outraged, if rather confused.

 

Ruby had bigger problems to worry about. Namely, she could feel the cloud of Dust beginning to tickle her nose, and she knew that a sneeze was coming. Sneezing in the presence of airborne, volatile Dust would end poorly, and would definitely make an even worse impression. Moving as quickly as she could, Ruby activated her Semblance and scrambled away from the other girl. Enough Dust followed her that she still sneezed, igniting the volatile Dust, causing an explosion, speckled with arcs of lightning and ice crystals. Thankfully, she had moved far enough that only the Dust right near her had been ignited.

 

Looking around, after the smoke cleared, Ruby saw that only she was covered in soot. The white-haired girl still looked pristine in her white outfit, and she was shaking her head at Ruby. “This is exactly what I was talking about,” she said, clearly without pity. Maybe she just wasn’t the empathetic type. “Aren’t you a bit young to be somewhere as prestigious as Beacon.”

 

Ugh. Here we go, exactly what she had been trying to avoid. You know what, Ruby really didn’t need to make friends with a girl that was like this. “I said I was sorry, princess, so back off. I was personally invited to attend early.” Uncle Qrow always said that the best way to shut down the entitled and snobbish was to flaunt hard-earned skills.

 

“Heiress, actually,” said a third voice. Oh no, that had all happened in front of someone else? Also, heiress? That explained a lot. “Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.” The girl in white, Weiss, perked up at the recognition. “Infamous for their controversial labor forces and questionable business partners.” Oh dear. Maybe she should just run off, rather than deal with this encounter like an adult. It almost didn’t seem worth it.

 

“How _dare_ you?” Weiss shrieked. She grabbed the loose vials of Dust from her bags and stalked off. “Sorry!” Ruby called out one more time, before turning to talk to the third girl. She had been taller than Ruby and Weiss, but shorter than Yang. Dark hair and clothes, with a bow in her hair, but Ruby hadn’t seen much else. It turned out that the other girl had already walked off. Ruby sat back down and tried to brush off some of the soot from the explosion. Her eyes were still watering from the soot. Yeah, definitely the soot. “Welcome to Beacon,” she muttered to herself, having not felt quite so alone and out of place in years.

 

“Hey,” she heard someone standing next to her say. “I’m Jaune.” She blinked a couple times to clear her eyes and turned to see a blonde guy in a small breastplate offering her a hand to help her up. Finally, a proper introduction. “Ruby,” she replied, taking his hand. This guy looked pretty familiar, but Ruby couldn’t quite place where she had seen him. Probably just a face she recognized from the airship.

 

They started walking along the path to the school – which looked like a massive modernized castle, and was _amazing_. After a little bit, both Ruby and Jaune mutually realized that they were awkwardly walking in silence, but Ruby had no idea how to fill it. Instead, Jaune decided that a proper introduction was in order. “The name’s Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it.”

 

Ruby almost stopped walking. Was Jaune flirting with her? Or was this just the kind of thing he said? No one had ever flirted with her. That’s what people did with Yang. “Do they?” She asked, still confused.

 

“Umm, they will,” he said, seeming less than certain. “I hope they will.” He perked up a bit as something sprang to mind. “My mom always said tha-nevermind.” It was at that moment that Ruby decided Jaune was cute. Not like, cute as a boy, attractive kind of cute. More like a ‘man, he’s totally in over his head, but he’s trying his best and is a good guy’ kind of cute. She would need to help him out when she could. And now was one of those times. By changing the topic.

 

The only problem was that she had no other topic to bring up. Maybe she would take Yang’s advice and talk about weapons. “Wellll, I have this,” she said, pulling out Crescent and giving her a twirl.

 

“Woah,” Jaune exclaimed, jumping back a little. He just couldn’t handle how awesome her baby was. “Is that a scythe?”

 

Ruby grinned. Silly boy, of course it was a scythe. “It’s also a customizable, anti-material sniper rifle, with a few other nasty surprises.” Jaune stared at her, completely blank-faced. “It’s also a gun,” she clarified, with a small chuckle. “Wow,” Jaune breathed out. Now he was appropriately impressed. But Ruby knew she had a tendency to rant about Crescent if she wasn’t careful. “How about you?”

 

Now Jaune looked mildly nervous. “I’ve got this sword,” he said, brandishing a traditional longsword. It looked well-made, but didn’t seem to have any shifting components. Maybe it was made for Dust enhancement or otherwise hid a couple things? “And this shield!” The shield was also clearly of good quality, and incorporated a sheath for the sword. An odd design choice, but a functional one. And the shield folded down into only the sheath for compact carrying, which was good.

 

“Well it’s good to see some appreciation for the classics,” Ruby said. She wondered if the sword had more to it, but it was a bit rude to ask that on the first meeting. They were just getting to know each other after all. “I went a bit overboard designing Crescent. I’m a bit of a weapons nut, and it’s hard to find high quality scythe designs that aren’t highly personalized.”

 

“Classics is right,” said Jaune. “It’s a family heirloom of sorts. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the War.” Ruby’s mind stalled for a second. This sword had survived in functional shape since the Great War? Even if it didn’t do anything particularly special, that alone was amazing. The sword must really be incredibly well made if nothing else.

 

Jaune and Ruby made their way into the outdoor auditorium where the welcoming ceremony was. “Ruby!” She turned and saw her sister flagging her down. “Over here, I saved you a spot.”

 

“Sorry, Jaune, gotta go meet up with my sister. I’ll see you later!” Ruby rushed off, happy to have her sister back in sight, and ready to dish out some well-deserved punishment.

 

“Sooooo, how’s your first day going?” Yang was far too cheerful.

 

“You mean after you ditched me?” Ruby wasn’t going to pull her punches on this one. “Ditched me after throwing me directly into someone’s luggage full of Dust, which then exploded?” She was shouting a little bit now, and maybe that wasn’t strictly true – not all the Dust had exploded – but she was trying to get her point across.

 

“It can’t have been that bad,” Yang countered, trying to brush her off.

 

“We left a crater in front of the school! She was so mad at me, and she started yelling, and she-“ It was about that time when a voice rang out behind her. “YOU! You’re lucky you weren’t blown off the side of the cliff!”

 

“Eep,” Ruby squeaked and buried her face in Yang’s shoulder. “Oh my god,” Yang said. “There was actually an explosion.” Yang turned to face the newcomer.

 

“Look,” Yang stared, determined to smooth things over for her little sister. “It seems like you both got off on the wrong foot. I’m sure my little sister didn’t intend for any harm to occur.”

 

“Little sister?” Weiss asked. “So, _you’re_ the one that threw her into my luggage?”

 

“Uuuummmmmm.” Ruby had totally sold her out on this one. Not that it was undeserved. Yang had always told Ruby to blame things on her if necessary. She could take the heat. This time, it was even her fault and entirely warranted. It just left her in a difficult spot for patching things up. “Yeah. I tossed Ruby toward the fountain to go make friends. I didn’t really check where she landed.”

 

Weiss stared at the tall blonde with an expression of complete disbelief. Not disbelieving that she could make such a throw. The blonde didn’t have massive muscles, but it was pretty clear that she was very much in shape. She would be training to be a heavier hitting Huntress, Weiss assumed. But what kind of sister would bodily throw their sister somewhere and not even keep an eye on them? Weiss and Winter had never had the greatest relationship, but Weiss couldn’t even imagine Winter doing such a thing and abandoning her. Even when Winter joined the military and was cut off from their family, she always made sure to check in on Weiss when she could.

 

“Then you should pay closer attention, you oaf,” Weiss replied. “Someone could have died. You threw your sister onto multiple cases of military-grade Dust propellant. You could have killed your sister and not even known!” The blonde was looking pretty angry at this point, so Weiss decided to make her point and leave. “You,” she said, gesturing to the shorter girl. “Read this, and stay away from me.” She thrust a Dust safety pamphlet at the girl in black and red. Weiss hadn’t forgiven the shorter girl, but she certainly blamed her less. “And you,” she said, turning to the blonde. “Learn some manners or get better aim.”

 

Once she stalked off, Yang turned to Ruby, seeing that she looked rather miserable and downtrodden. She had just wanted to bring Ruby out of her shell a bit. Yang threw an arm around Ruby’s shoulders, but before she could say anything, the sound system came to life, emitting some feedback.

 

“You all have come here today to hone your craft,” Ozpin said, looking out at the crowd. “But all I see is wasted potential.” Well, Ruby felt slightly insulted by that, considering that Ozpin had invited her here himself. “You assume that knowledge will provide you purpose and direction. But your time here will show you that knowledge can only do so much. You must take the first step.”

 

Ruby was a bit confused about what Ozpin was trying to get at. She already had a purpose. She was going to protect people, as much as she was able. And she was going to always be there for her family, as long as she lived. She was going to be a hero. She wasn’t here for direction. She was here for further training. While she had been thinking over Ozpin’s speech, Professor Goodwitch had given them directions for the rest of the day. Ruby just resolved to stick by Yang’s side. Yang wouldn’t ditch her twice in one day.

 

* * *

 

That night, the new students were to all sleep in the same room together in sleeping bags. Yang and Ruby grabbed two spots next to each other, and settled down for the night. Yang was feeling a bit less boisterous and more than a little embarrassed by the situation she had accidentally put Ruby in. Ruby wasn’t exactly feeling better than earlier, but she was at least a little less anxious now that she was in the middle of things, and no one was yelling at her anymore.

 

Yang reached out from where she was laying on her sleeping bag and pulled Ruby into a hug. “Sorry, Rubes,” she said. Ruby hugged her tight enough that Yang couldn’t breathe for a moment. All that swinging Crescent around really gave Ruby some muscles.

 

“It’s okay, Yang,” she replied. Although Yang knew it wasn’t. Ruby had been so nervous to start with, and she had had a terrible first day because of Yang. “At least Jaune was nice. He’ll be a good friend. Weiss, a little less so…”

 

“It’s only been one day,” Yang said. “You’ve got plenty of time to make friends. And I’ll be with you, every step of the way.” For real this time. No more hurting Ruby, just to hang out with her friends. What kind of big sister was she? “And tomorrow, you can just focus on combat stuff, so you’ll do amazing. Did you meet anyone else?”

 

“Well there was this one other girl,” Ruby said, rather reluctantly. “She saw what happened with Weiss, but she left before I could say anything.”

 

Yang pushed Ruby out of the cuddling that their hug had devolved into. “Well let’s go find her and you can say hi,” Yang suggested. “No need for any pressure. Just introducing yourself and maybe a quick chat before bed. End the day on a high note.” Yang dragged Ruby to her feet.

 

“Fine.” Ruby acquiesced, if only to potentially make Yang feel a bit better about ditching her. Yang deserved to regret that, but Ruby hated when her sister felt bad. Ruby quickly spotted the girl from earlier – who was up against one of the walls, reading a book – and started walking over. Yang followed her, waving over Ruby’s head and generally making a spectacle of herself.

 

“Aren’t you the girl that exploded,” the girl with the bow asked, once they had walked over.

 

“Uhhh, yeah,” said Ruby. “I’m Ruby. Thanks for helping me out earlier. My sister sort of threw me into that situation.” She gestured at Yang, who momentarily looked rather uncomfortable. “What’s your name?”

 

“Blake.”

 

Ruby and Yang waited for a moment, but nothing more was forthcoming. Yang took the lead first. “I’m Yang, Ruby’s sister. I like your bow!” Complimenting someone else’s style normally loosened them up a bit. Blake kept her eyes on Yang, but otherwise ignored her. “It’s a nice night!” Yang tried again, but even she knew that she was running out of things to say.

 

Blake decided that enough was enough. “Not as nice as this book,” she said, trying to drop a hit. “Which I will continue to read.” Neither sister responded. Blake narrowed her eyes a little. Fine, if they wanted to be that insistent. “Once you leave.” At that point, Yang started to turn away. About time, as far as Blake was concerned. But while her focus was on Yang, Ruby had taken a step forward.

 

“What’s it about,” Ruby asked. Blake supposed that she could tolerate conversation about her book. “It’s about a man with two souls, each one fighting over their body,” Blake explained. She could already see Yang’s eyes starting to glaze over. Blake turned her attention more fully to the girl with the red-fringed hair.

 

“I love books,” Ruby said. “Stories of heroes and monsters, far off places, people experiencing situations that we couldn’t imagine, but that we get so invested in. They’re amazing. Storybook characters are one of the reasons I wanted to be a Huntress.”

 

Okay, maybe Ruby was adorable, even if Blake wasn’t looking for company right now. “Why is that?” Blake asked, willing to let the conversation go a bit further.

 

“I wanted to be just like those heroes,” Ruby answered. “Fighting for what was right, and defending those that couldn’t defend themselves.”

 

“The real world isn’t quite like that,” Blake answered. Ruby just shook her head and lightly clenched a fist. “I know,” Ruby said, looking a little uncomfortable. There was clearly some lingering experience there, and Blake felt a bit awkward that she had clearly brought it to mind. “But that’s why we’re here. To make it a little bit better when we can, even if we can’t fix it all.”

 

“Awwwwwww, I’m so _proud_ of you, baby sis!” Yang almost squealed before sweeping Ruby off her feet in a hug. Blake just smiled softly and shook her head. That had been almost inspirational before Yang had ruined the mood. Ruby just sighed from Yang’s arms and grinned at Blake. “Sorry about her. Maybe I can borrow that book when you’re done? Either way, let’s talk more another time, okay?” Blake thought about it for a moment.

 

“Yeah. I would like that,” Blake answered, and then the sisters finally left her in peace. It had been nice talking to those two, but Blake wasn’t sure that she could handle them for an extended period of time.

 

Yang carried Ruby back toward their spot, still grinning at how cute her little sister could be. Ruby, meanwhile, was just glad that that had gone better than it initially looked like it would. She would need to talk to Blake without Yang around. Those two just didn’t seem like they would mesh well. Blake wasn’t really ready for how aggressively outgoing Yang could be.

 

Later that night, when the chatter from the other students had died down, and it seemed like everyone was asleep, Yang reached over and laid a hand on Ruby’s shoulder. She hadn’t been able to get to sleep yet. She had been too preoccupied thinking about how badly Beacon had started off for Ruby, and how to help her start to salvage that.

 

“No more throwing you into Dust, at the very least,” Yang whispered. “I promise.”

 

Ruby rolled over, surprising Yang, and grabbed her arm. Pulling her closer, Ruby threw an arm over Yang’s body and pulled her into an awkward hug. “It’ll all work out, Yang,” she said. “We just need to look out for each other. I know you didn’t mean it.” Yang just hugged Ruby back and buried her face in Ruby’s hair.

 

“Go to sleep, Yang. I love you.”

 

“I love you too, Ruby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost at the point where things really start to diverge from canon. All minor stuff so far, but next chapter should cover up to the first major change, and then things will start to snowball a bit.
> 
> As always, leave a comment if you're interested in helping out with beta reading or with developing the story or characterization of characters.


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